Not Just a Name Anymore
by Spaghetti13
Summary: A newcomer to the Institution shocks the other residents with a startling secret. Can they escape the Insitution? And what the heck is up with this animal DNA stuff? AU, pairings inside, more info inside. Rated T to be safe, language, and eventual blood.
1. Prologue

_**Date Written: **September 23, 2011_

_**Word Count:** 691_

_**Summary: **A newcomer to the Institution shocks the other residents with a startling secret. How do they react? Can they work together to escape the Insitution? Who is this elusive 'President' anyways? And what the heck is up with this animal DNA stuff? AU, multiple pairings but not sole focus of story, nearly all countries included. Rated T to be safe and for language._

_**Warnings:** Some strong language, somewhat graphic torture later on in story, France (because France is his own warning XD), Canadian swears, country names rarely used (but often not)._

_**Disclaimer:** Hetalia does not belong to me._

**_Pairings: _**_Germany x N Italy, Greece x Japan, America x England, Russia x China, S Italy x Spain, Canada x Prussia, Hungary x Austria, possible other pairings may crop up throughout the story (but highly unlikely)._

**_A short explanation of the Institution:_**_ The Institution is a place where people are taken and experimented on with animal DNA, resulting in both physical and mental animalistic tendances/apperances. It is originally an RP on Chicken Smoothie, but this story veers off from the main plotline of the RP and adds things that were not originally included, such as powers. In the Institution, the people expermented/tested on are kept in cages and are called Patients. Those that are in charge of the Patients are called Soldiers. Wilds are explained in the story. _

_Just another short little note before the story actually starts, I will not be revealing which character is which country. However, I do hope that I've made that obvious and you can always ask (be warned though, I may not give a straight answer ;D )._

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><p>A piercing scream shattered the near-silent air, causing the figures sitting in the cold cages to jump and turn towards the door at the end of the hallway. All quiet chatter stopped as the scream sounded again, this time causing a pale man with black leathery wings to let out a pained screech and cover his equally-leathery large black ears with his hands, flattening the ears against his snowy hair. The other residents of the surrounding cages looked over curiously, some just sighing and going back to their whispered conversations.<p>

"You alright, Echo?" The person in the cage next to the now-kneeling figure asked worriedly, reaching through the metal bars to place a slender hand on the other's shoulder. The winged male flinched backwards in response, cowering against the stone back wall of his cell with his hands still firmly clasped over his flattened ears. A low hiss slid past his lips and he slowly straightened up, taking his hands away from his ears to run them through his silvery hair and turning towards the person beside him.

"Yeah Somnus, I'm good, as long as he doesn't start screaming again. _Damn_ I hate that." Echo grumbled in annoyance, shaking off the hand on his shoulder and narrowing bright red eyes. "Can't they find a way to make the transformation process less painful?" He remarked angrily, sighing and gently rubbing the base of one large ear. "Or at least make them shut up?" Echo continued, with a twitch of the other ear, and spreading out large black bat wings.

"Be more considerate, will you? Or have you forgotten so quickly the pain that you also had to go through?" The other figure, Somnus, retracted his hand from Echo's shoulder and narrowed green eyes in a stern glare. "It is _always_ painful, no matter what DNA they use." Somnus added quietly, eyes flickering over Echo's bat wings and ears, than drifting his forest gaze over the surrounding cells.

"But Echo is the only one who can hear the entire thing, ve~" A smaller figure with brown and grey wolf ears and tail sitting in the cell across the hallway from Echo called out; earning another flinch and barely audible whine from Echo, and a glare from Somnus. "Be that as it may, he does not need to be so insensitive to the newcomers, Lumos." Somnus retorted, causing Lumos to shrink back and scoot closer to the other side of the cage where a nearly identical male was glowering.

"Just leave it,idiot. We all know that when the DNA first takes affect it hurts like a bitch. And we all know that Echo's power makes the screaming and shit more painful. So why don't all of you just shut up about it already, okay?" The other male snapped, chocolate brown eyes narrowing in irritation and black wolf ears flattening. The other occupants of the rest of the cages just rolled their eyes, giving the impression that this happened often enough to be counted as routine.

"Nyx, don't be such a grumpy-pants." Lumos whined, reaching a hand over to attempt to grab the hand of the other. Nyx just growled and slid away from the scrambling hand. "We go through the same damn thing so often. I don't understand why you idiots are still affected by this shit." Lips pulled back from sharp teeth in a warning, eyes flashing with dangerous annoyance.

"Nyx, Lumos, why don't we just change the subject?" Somnus offered, rounded yellow cat ears flickering back and worth. A curt nod from Nyx and a happy smile from Lumos prompted his next words. "I wonder which cell block they'll end up in?" He mused.

A taller male stood up in the cell beside Somnus', speaking eagerly. "Ours is one of the only cell blocks with empty cells left." He pointed out, purple eyes flickering over to the empty cell beside Echo. "We can assume that they will be put in here, da?" He continued with an innocently childish smile.


	2. A Newcomer Arrives

_**Date Written: **September 23, 2011_

_**Word Count:** 1 592_

_**Summary: **A newcomer to the Institution shocks the other residents with a startling secret. How do they react? Can they work together to escape the Insitution? Who is this elusive 'President' anyways? And what the heck is up with this animal DNA stuff? AU, multiple pairings but not sole focus of story, nearly all countries included. Rated T to be safe and for language._

_**Warnings:** Some strong language, somewhat graphic torture later on in story, France (because France is his own warning XD), Canadian swears, country names rarely used (but often not)._

_**Disclaimer:** Hetalia does not belong to me._

**_Pairings: _**_Germany x N Italy, Greece x Japan, America x England, Russia x China, S Italy x Spain, Canada x Prussia, Hungary x Austria, possible other pairings may crop up throughout the story (but highly unlikely)._

**_A short explanation of the Institution:_**_ The Institution is a place where people are taken and experimented on with animal DNA, resulting in both physical and mental animalistic tendances/apperances. It is originally an RP on Chicken Smoothie, but this story veers off from the main plotline of the RP and adds things that were not originally included, such as powers. In the Institution, the people expermented/tested on are kept in cages and are called Patients. Those that are in charge of the Patients are called Soldiers. Wilds are explained in the story. _

_-Just another short little note before the story actually starts, I will not be revealing which character is which country. However, I do hope that I've made that obvious and you can always ask (be warned though, I may not give a straight answer ;D ).- **Whoops, never mind XD I guess I sorta say who everyone is in this chapter ^-^" Sorry 'bout that...**_

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><p>The heavy door at the end of the hallway running down the center of the cell block creaked open, sending a stream of bright light into the dimly lit cell block. The light fell on the cage closest to the door, awakening its unhappy inhabitant. Said inhabitant sat up out of the low cot he was sitting on and glared at the door. Black ears slid back and lips pulled back from teeth in an angry snarl. His fluffy black tail lashed back and forth, scattering a few rocks across the concrete floor and letting out a low hiss of pain as the rocks caught and tangled in the fur. "What the hell?" Nyx growled groggily, stumbling to his feet and stalking to the edge of the cage closest to the door, narrowing his eyes at the person standing just outside the cell block.<p>

The person had straight black hair cut short and emotionless brown eyes. He met Nyx's own chocolate brown eyes for a brief moment then nudged the door open further with his shoulder, revealing another person barely standing up beside him. The first person had a firm hold on the other's wrist and led him a few more steps into the cell block. The second figure was roughly a head taller than the first and had blond hair stained with blood and made dark with dirt. When his eyes blinked open in a daze, they were mostly blue but held a hint of purple tinge, sending an involuntary shiver down Nyx's spine at the memory of the completely violet eyes belonging to the mentally unstable occupant of the cage at the end of the cell block. As the first person, the one wearing the black Soldier uniform, tugged the other another few steps, Nyx caught a glimpse of feathery black and white speckled wings, the edges of the glossy feathers torn and patched with blood. There was blood on other places on the newcomer's back as well, dripping down in between his shoulder blades and tainting the dark grey uniform.

A flicker of emotion wavered in the Soldier's dull brown eyes as he forced the other forwards and finally spoke, calling out to the cell block. "This is Subject 166. He will be residing in this cell block." He stated impassively as he managed to get the dazed Patient over to the empty cell across from Nyx, unlocking the door and gently shoving him inside. Turning to leave, the Soldier raised his voice again. "You will be nice to him. He is new here and the President still would like to know his power." With that, the emotionless Soldier departed, making sure to close the heavy steel door tightly behind him.

The Patient slowly turned around to look at the cell block, staggering and managing to catch himself on the bars of the cage, leaning heavily on them to stay upright. His eyes flickered desperately across the hallway, resting briefly on each of the other occupants of the cell block slowly waking up and going to stand at the bars of their cage to get a closer look at the newcomer before quickly flitting to the next. He stopped when his bluish gaze caught that of Echo's, stiffening suddenly and a look of utter shock and horror taking over his features.

"Gi-" He started to say, but was quickly silenced by the frantic shaking of Echo's head, silently begging him not to continue. "Don't say anything." Echo hurriedly explained, looking nervously at the other figures in the cell block. "We don't use our given names here. Birdie…are you alright?" He asked, noticing the panicked look on the other's face slowly growing more and more terrified.

Suddenly a loud scream shot through the silent air and the newcomer's eyes widened, scrambling backwards until his back bumped against the stone wall by the door. "Y-y-y-you…" He started to say, breaths coming much too quick and shallow to be normal. Echo flinched backwards at the newcomer's scream, ears pressing backwards against his pale hair and hands quickly covering the ears soon after. His eyes scrunched up in pain and a low growl escaped his lips.

"Can't you be quiet?" Somnus scolded, glaring at the newest Patient. "That's the second time that you have done that, git." The Patient shrunk backwards away from the glare, training his eyes on the ground. "Sorry…" He whispered in apology, turning his head away from Somnus and Echo. Echo slowly straightened back up again, hesitantly taking his hands away from his ears and letting them fall forwards again. "Don't be mad at him." Echo insisted, turning to Somnus with a dangerous gleam in his eyes. "He does not know how far his screams carried before and all of us were scared for the first few days." He retorted, wings flaring out slightly. Somnus just nodded and turned his glare to the far wall.

"I'm Echo." Echo said, turning back towards Subject 166 and extending a pale hand through the bars of the cage. The other looked understandably wary, but moved from his position by the wall after a while and gently shook Echo's hand as if the two had never seen each other in their lives. "I'm Ma-" He started to say again, but was cut off this time by Somnus' irritated words. "No you git. Didn't you hear him the first time? We go by different names here in the Institution. Makes it easier." He stated matter-of-factly, glancing back over at Subject 166.

Somnus sighed at his confused expression. "You know how most of the Patients, and quite a few Soldiers as well, have extra abilities or powers?" He asked, pausing until the other nodded curiously. "Well we have names that correspond with our powers. For example, my power is to enter and influence other people's dreams. So, my power-name is Somnus, which I believe is the Roman god of dreams or sleep or something like that." Somnus continued, irritated gleam in his green eyes fading slowly as he spoke. "What is your power?" He asked Subject 166, peering curiously at him.

The Subject shook his head slowly, letting blond hair flop into his face. "I do not have a power. I am just normal. Well…as normal as anyone can be in this place." He stated, rolling one shoulder back and wincing at the pain that shot through his wing and side. "Is there any other kind of name I could use?" Subject 166 asked hesitantly. Somnus nodded, speaking again. "We also go by the name of the country that we were taken from or originally lived in before coming to the Institution." Subject 166 smiled. "So you would either be England or Britain then." He guessed, amusement clear in his tone. Somnus' eyes narrowed briefly before he answered. "Yes. Why do you say that?" He questioned, irritation flickering back into his face. Subject 166 shrugged, saying, "Your accent," like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Somnus just rolled his eyes.

"Then that means you are Canada." Echo stated with a smirk. Subject 166, now Canada, nodded, deciding against saying anything else. "Well, I'm the awesome Prussia!" Echo shouted across the cell block, wincing slightly as he did so and earning himself multiple glares from the nearby Patients. "Echo, Prussia is not even a country anymore!" Somnus sighed, the exasperated note saying clearly that this sort of thing also happened often. Echo looked like he was about to say something else, narrowing his red eyes and flaring out black wings, but Canada quickly interrupted, turning towards Lumos and Nyx.

"So who are you two then?" Canada asked quietly, lavender-blue eyes sparking with curiosity. Nyx just growled and glanced away, but Lumos hopped eagerly to the front of his cage. "Ve~ My name is Lumos! Or North Italy, I guess. Lumos because I can create light, ve~" Lumos explained happily, holding out his hands, which were now glowing with a soft white light, in front of him to show Canada. "He's my brother; Nyx or South Italy." Lumos continued with a nod in Nyx's direction. "I can speak for myself, bastard." Nyx retorted, glaring at his brother. Lumos shrunk back and his wide smile faded slightly.

"You never seem to mind not talking when Sol-" Echo started to say with a laugh, but was fast cut off by a screeched curse and thrown rock in his direction from Nyx. "Shut up, potato bastard!" "I thought that was mein bruder?" Echo said with a smug smirk and not even bothering to hide the amusement gleaming in his eyes. "Wait…speaking of my brother…" Echo continued, expression fast turning serious and large ears pricking towards the direction of the door. Moments later, the door opened again to reveal a not-very-happy blond man with blue eyes glaring at the residents of the cell block.

"Hey West!" Echo crowed, enthusiastically waving one hand at the Soldier. He just nodded to Echo and continued down the hallway between both sides of the cell block. "Mockingbird wants to take Subject 113 for testing." He stated with an exasperated sigh, stopping in front of Lumos' cell. Lumos hesitated slightly, his smile fading and fear creeping into his eyes, before slowly walking out of the now-open cage and following the Soldier quietly. The rest of the inhabitants of the cell block were just as quiet, causing an eerie hush to descend upon the block.

"Testing? What did he mean by testing?" Canada asked timidly once the Soldier and Patient had left the cell block, as the edges of his body appeared to shimmer. An even more awkward silence settled on the cell block, no one daring to reply to his inquiry. Finally, Echo spoke up. "You will find out soon enough." He stated ominously. Canada narrowed his eyes, not looking at all satisfied with that as an answer, but he let it go.

Only a few moments after the blond Soldier left and Canada asked about testing, the door opened again and the emotionless Soldier who had brought Canada in earlier walked in. "I am looking for Subject 127." He intoned, gaze sweeping through the cell block. Echo sniggered quietly, stating that his brother had already left with Lumos. A spark of anger flashed in the Soldier's dull brown eyes, but only for a moment, and he turned back to the task at hand.

The Soldier strode over to the front of Canada's cell, opening the door and motioning for him to come out of the cage and stand before him. Canada obliged shyly, ducking his head and keeping his gaze trained on the ground, pressing his speckled wings closer to his back with a low hiss of residual pain. With one hand warningly placed on Canada's shoulder, the Soldier steered him out the door and into the startlingly bright hallway.

Back in the cell block, the silence remained. When someone finally spoke up, it was Echo. "Well, I guess Canada will find out what the testing is sooner than we thought." He pointed out grimly.


	3. Testing, Ice, and a Disappearing Act

_**Date Written: **September 25, 2011_

_**Word Count:** 1 628_

_**Summary: **A newcomer to the Institution shocks the other residents with a startling secret. How do they react? Can they work together to escape the Insitution? Who is this elusive 'President' anyways? And what the heck is up with this animal DNA stuff? AU, multiple pairings but not sole focus of story, nearly all countries included. Rated T to be safe and for language._

_**Warnings:** Some strong language, somewhat graphic torture later on in story, France (because France is his own warning XD), Canadian swears, country names rarely used (but often not)._

_**Disclaimer:** Hetalia does not belong to me._

**_Pairings: _**_Germany x N Italy, Greece x Japan, America x England, Russia x China, S Italy x Spain, Canada x Prussia, Hungary x Austria, possible other pairings may crop up throughout the story (but highly unlikely)._

**_A short explanation of the Institution:_**_ The Institution is a place where people are taken and experimented on with animal DNA, resulting in both physical and mental animalistic tendances/apperances. It is originally an RP on Chicken Smoothie, but this story veers off from the main plotline of the RP and adds things that were not originally included, such as powers. In the Institution, the people expermented/tested on are kept in cages and are called Patients. Those that are in charge of the Patients are called Soldiers. Wilds are explained in the story. _

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><p>The emotionless black haired Soldier led Canada out of the cell block and down the starkly white hallway, before turning him and directing him through a steel door. As his eyes adjusted to the slightly darker large white painted room his was standing in, Canada noticed another figure standing a little ways away.<p>

The figure was roughly the same height as Canada, with darker skin than him and curly brown hair. He was wearing the same sort of uniform as Canada as well, but the colour was muddled by grass stains and torn patches, giving the grey uniform the appearance of having been worn outside for a long time. The figure's hair had dirt in it as well as a few leaves, adding to the look of having been outside. After a few minutes of just standing there, the other person noticed Canada and walked up to him with a wide smile and a happy gleam in his green eyes.

Canada backed away warily, nervously eyeing this new person, unsure as to whether he was a threat or not. Canada ruffled his own white-flecked black wings, noticing the light brown eagle wings edged with black that the other had folded against his back. "I am Solar. Please to meet you…?" He introduced himself cheerfully, holding out a hand to Canada. Canada paused for a moment, but cautiously took the offered hand and shook it slowly, saying, "My name is Canada."

"Oh, so no power then?" Solar asked curiously, tilting his head to one side. Canada shook his head. "No, just DNA." He stated as he flared out the black and white feather wings poking through the back of his Patient uniform. "Ah. Man, it seems like forever since I left this place…" Solar stated dreamily, casting his green gaze up to the ceiling and pivoting in a slow circle, looking around the large room. Canada nodded, before a puzzled look came over his face.

"Wait, left? You mean, you escaped?" Canada asked shyly, unsure if he was being too nosey or not. Solar nodded, still looking around the room. "They haven't changed much." He mused quietly. "I guess I have been with the Wilds for longer than I thought." Solar continued, finally turning green eyes back to the other.

"Wilds?" Canada asked softly. Solar nodded. "Yes, that is what we call those who have escaped. There are many scattered over the island, but they all respond to one leader. Some try to leave the island altogether and some try to come back to free more Patients. But most just try to survive in the jungle." He explained briefly. Canada paused for a moment, thinking. "So how did you escape?" He finally asked. Solar's eyes grew cold and he turned away, shoulders stiffening and fingers curling into fists. "I cannot tell you that, I am sorry." Solar stated unintentionally harshly.

Canada started to say something else, to apologize, but just then another Soldier entered the room. This one was much shorter than either of the two Patients, with long black hair and golden eyes. Canada could almost confuse him with a woman if he didn't know any better. The Soldier turned to Solar, piercing yellow eyes meeting naïve green ones. "Use your power on him." The Soldier ordered, gaze briefly flickering back over his shoulder to rest on Canada. "But…" Solar started to protest, before being quickly cut off by a few thinly-veiled threats from the small Soldier.

Solar nodded sadly, walking closer to Canada and holding out his hands in front of him. "I'm sorry about this…I hope he knows what he's doing." Solar apologized, closing his eyes as bright flames sprung out of the concrete floor around the two of them. The flames quickly rose higher, fast cutting off Canada's view of the Soldier and sending his heartbeat racing with fear, wondering about the Soldier's intention for having the other do this. His thoughts flew around in circles, all the while coming back to one thought: the flames that were creeping closer and closer around him. Canada noticed detachedly that the increasing heat from the fire did not seem to bother Solar at all.

After what felt like an eternity to Canada, with the flickering orange and yellow flames dancing ever closer, the flames seemed to retreat and sizzle. Canada's eyes, which had been screwed tightly shut soon after Solar caused the fire to appear, snapped open to see a wall of clear ice surrounding him and the astonished gaze from both Solar and the short Soldier.

"Well then. I guess we know what your power is." Solar stated with a cheery laugh, the rest of the flames dissipating into the air. The Soldier looked shocked, his golden eyes wide as he stared at Canada. Suddenly, he started asking rapid-fire questions, scribbling something down on the clipboard he was holding and not even bothering to give Canada a chance to reply. "How did you do that? Did you have to concentrate? On what? Do you feel weak or anything now? Could you do that again on purpose?"

Canada slowly grew panicked again, getting more and more flustered with each wide-eyed question. His heartbeat sped up again as he tried to figure out the answers to the Soldier's questions. Solar's gaze turned from gentle amusement to worry at the steadily increasing speed of Canada's breathing to complete shock as the outline of the timid Patient blurred, then disappeared completely. The Soldier stopped talking, staring at a now-invisible Canada before whirling around and darting back out of the room.

Canada's form slowly re-appeared again as the Soldier left, breathing slowing and heartbeat steadying. "W-what…what happened?" Canada asked slowly, watching the spot that the Soldier left from. Solar blinked a few times before grinning widely and clasping a hand over the other's shoulder. "You can turn invisible!" He stated excitedly. Solar was about to say more, but just then the door opened again and two Soldiers came into the room. The blank-looking Soldier, whom Solar addressed as Shadow, as well as the smaller Soldier from earlier.

Shadow motioned for Canada to walk in front of him, directing him back down the hallway and into the cell block, leaving Solar standing in the testing area. A sudden wave of exhaustion passed over the blond Patient and he slumped forwards, stumbling and prompting Shadow to place a guiding hand on his back. Canada's control over his power slipped as he walked, causing the edges of his body to shimmer and fade. Shadow stopped him in front of a white door marked with a small black 'A', opening the door and gently pushing him inside.

The quiet remnants of chatter stopped as Canada walked through the door, gaining quite a few amazed stares. Finally Somnus spoke up after a few moments of awkward silence. "Canada…why can I see the outline of Shadow and the door behind you through your body?" Canada paused as Shadow opened the door to his cell and ushered him inside. "My power…invisibility…" He slurred tiredly, leaning up against the back wall and sliding down until he was sitting on the concrete floor. "Cool Birdie! You have a power after all!" Echo interjected, with both Somnus and Nyx glaring at him.

"Canada looks like a ghost!" Came the childish giggle from a few cells down, violet eyes sparkling in amusement and lips pulling back from teeth in a wide smile. "Maybe that should be Canada's power-name, da?"

Canada shook his head slowly, tiredly. "Frost." He stated quietly, causing more than a few of the residents of the cell block to glance at him again. "But…that's not even close to anything to do with invisibility…" Echo pointed out, red eyes narrowing in suspicion, a suspicion that Canada failed to pick up on. "Canada…um, Frost…did anything else happen during testing?" Echo asked as he leaned over farther to peer at the sleepy Patient.

Canada's head shot up from where it was falling forwards as his eyes closed; his already partial invisibility increasing until the rest of the Patients could only see a faint glimmer of colour where the blond Patient had been sitting. "Nothing else happened." Canada insisted softly, eyes flickering closed again with an exhausted sigh. Echo did not say anything else, only squinting at the patch of watery grey and blond colours floating in the air as a deeper suspicion entered both his face and his mind. Power-names always had something to do with the power in question. _Always._ Something else had happened to his friend while Canada was gone and Echo was determined to find out what.

After a few more moments of extended quiet, Canada, now Frost, slowly re-appeared and spoke up again. "So…w-what are all of y-your powers?" He asked timidly, fighting to keep the yawn out of his voice. "Well, you already know mine. Entering and influencing dreams." Somnus stated, inclining his head towards the twin Patients across the hall to direct them to continue. "Mine's light and stuff, ve~" Lumos re-stated, apparently forgetting that he had already said this earlier. "Nyx's is exactly the same, just with darkness!" He continued with a glare and a grumble from Nyx. "I don't have a power, da." The tall purple-eyed Patient at the end of the cell block stated.

"And what about you, Echo?" Frost asked, blinking open heavy eyelids and turning towards the figure in the cell next to him. "My power? Being awesome, of course!" Echo chirped cheerfully, turning his head aside to mask the fear flickering across his features.


	4. Hidden Powers and Guarded Secrets

_**Date Written: **October 9, 2011_

_**Word Count:** 1 831_

_**Summary: **A newcomer to the Institution shocks the other residents with a startling secret. How do they react? Can they work together to escape the Insitution? Who is this elusive 'President' anyways? And what the heck is up with this animal DNA stuff? AU, multiple pairings but not sole focus of story, nearly all countries included. Rated T to be safe and for language._

_**Warnings:** Some strong language, somewhat graphic torture later on in story, France (because France is his own warning XD), Canadian swears, country names rarely used (but often not)._

_**Disclaimer:** Hetalia does not belong to me._

**_Pairings: _**_Germany x N Italy, Greece x Japan, America x England, Russia x China, S Italy x Spain, Canada x Prussia, Hungary x Austria, possible other pairings may crop up throughout the story (but highly unlikely)._

**_A short explanation of the Institution:_**_ The Institution is a place where people are taken and experimented on with animal DNA, resulting in both physical and mental animalistic tendances/apperances. It is originally an RP on Chicken Smoothie, but this story veers off from the main plotline of the RP and adds things that were not originally included, such as powers. In the Institution, the people expermented/tested on are kept in cages and are called Patients. Those that are in charge of the Patients are called Soldiers. Wilds are explained in the story. _

* * *

><p>The rest of the day passed as usual for Cell Block A, with various Soldiers entering intermittently to take Patients away for testing. Almost all of them came back weary and exhausted, some losing the control of their powers when they came back (causing some temporary blindness from Lumos which resulted in curses and forced darkness from Nyx, amongst other mishaps). By the end of the day, each Patient had left, some for only an hour and some for most of the day. Eventually, those Patients without nocturnal instincts slowly began to fall asleep, one by one.<p>

Frost was one of those Patients who had gone to sleep, curled up on one side on the cot in the corner of his cell. Well, asleep until the low chattering of voices reached his ears, that is. He sat up cautiously from his previous position, gently spreading out feathery speckled wings and wincing when stiffness spread across them. Frost turned to look towards where the voices were coming from, eyes straining to see something in the nearly complete darkness that engulfed the cell block.

"Why though?"

"That's none of your business."

"Why?"

"Is that your answer for everything?"

"No, only when you're being an idiot."

"I'm not being an idiot."

"What are you being then?"

"Smart. I, for one, have some sense of self-preservation, unlike you, you git."

Frost shook his head slowly in confusion, catching a glimpse of Somnus talking to another figure, which was currently standing in front of the bars of his cell, illuminated by the soft light glowing from Lumos' cell. Echo was sitting by the bars closest to Somnus' cage and looked quite exasperated with their whispering. "Flash, he obviously isn't going to leave. And not everyone is awesomely nocturnal like me. So just shut up already before you wake someone else up." He stated, shuffling large black wings in an attempt to get them to lay flat against his back.

"Yes, someone like me." Frost piped up grouchily, not happy with having been woken up after such a long and tiring (and painful) day. Somnus and Echo, as well as Flash, jerked around to look at him. Frost met their curious gazes with a cold violet stare, mouth twisting down into a displeased frown. Flash returned to arguing with Somnus after a few brief seconds, ignoring Frost. Echo sighed and said, "Just ignore them, they do this almost every other night. It gets annoying after a while, because Flash won't give up and Somnus is stubborn. You're all so lucky; you can sleep through all this crap." Echo grumbled at the end. "It would be so much better if Somnus would just leave already. Would make our nights so much quieter."

"Leave?" Frost asked quietly, gaze flickering over to Flash and then back to Echo. Echo nodded. "Yeah, Flash is a Wild, he keeps trying to convince Somnus to leave this un-awesome hell-hole. No clue why he would want to stay." Frost was about to comment on Echo's referring to Flash as a Wild, but was promptly interrupted by an irritated Somnus. "You two _do_ realize that we _can_hear you, right? Besides, it's none of your business as to why I want to stay here."

Echo ignored Somnus' interruption and kept on speaking to Frost. "So, did anything else happen during testing?" He asked casually, red eyes watching the other's face closely. Frost quickly shook his head, wrapping his large wings around himself and effectively hiding his face as his outline slowly shimmered and faded. "Nothing happened." He stated quietly, the temperature of the air around him slowly decreasing.

Shivers ran through both Echo and Somnus' bodies, the cold did not seem to affect Flash at all, and Somnus spoke up again. "Frost, are you doing something? Because I could have sworn that the cell block was never this cold." Frost quickly ducked his head, tightening his wings around himself. He was just about to answer Somnus when Flash piped in excitedly.

"Hey dude, you look like me! Well, other than the fact that I can see through you…But isn't that cool?" Flash darted over to the front of Frost's cage with a blurring speed, pressing his face up to the bars and peering closely at Frost with intense blue eyes. Frost's form diminished even further under Flash's scrutiny, shifting his weight nervously.

"_Did_ anything happen during training?" Echo asked again, more insistently and with flattened ears. Frost disappeared completely at this, raising his voice when he spoke. "What is _with_ you, eh? Honestly, nothing else happened during testing, why the hell won't you believe me? What reason would I have to lie to you, eh? Leave me _alone_already!" Frost yelled angrily, turning around to face the opposite wall and tucked his wings behind his back neatly.

Echo backed away with a shocked expression on his face, while both Somnus and Flash whirled around to stare incredulously at the usually quiet Patient's outburst. Amazingly, none of the other Patients residing in the cell block woke up or even really acknowledged Frost's raised voice. The air started growing steadily colder again once Frost turned around, his outline blurring barely back into view.

After a few more tense moments of stunned silence, Echo walked forwards again right up to where the bars of his and Frost's cage became one. "Look, birdie, I didn't mean anything bad by asking. Just…you seem like something is troubling you. And I _know_something else happened while you were gone." He softly said with head tilted down and one hand resting against the bars, briefly flinching back away from the stark coldness of the harsh metal.

Frost stretched out black feathered wings, the small amount of light seeping into the cell block from underneath the door at the end of the hallway catching the white flecks amongst the glossy black. He ran a hand through shaggy blonde hair, grimacing when sharp nails dragged through dried blood and grime. When he spoke again, his voice was little more than a harsh whisper. "How the _hell_do you know anything about what happened, eh? What the fuck are you, some sort of mind reader?"

This unnecessarily cold (both literally and figuratively, as the air around Frost was still decreasing in temperature) accusation was met by more silence, thick enough to shatter even the sharpest blade. Echo shifted uncomfortably, avoiding the three other Patients' eyes and keeping one hand on the metal bars. "Um…well…" He started slowly, cautiously, before glancing sideways at Somnus and Flash. "That's…well, that's kind of my power…" Echo explained in a rush, head snapping back around to stare at the floor like it was the most interesting thing in the institution (which it probably would have been, had it not been for the splices lurking in its halls and testing arenas).

Frost's eyes snapped open to reveal blue depths tinted purple and a look of astonishment. Somnus did not look at all shocked by this statement, only shrugging and narrowing green eyes as if he did not care what the other's power was. Flash went stock still, the blood draining out of his face before promptly being replaced by an embarrassed flush. A blush which, unfortunately for Flash, Echo failed to miss.

Echo turned completely around to face Flash, momentarily leaving Frost standing still shocked, with a smirk taking up residence across his lips. "You have something to hide, _Flash_?" Echo asked with a wider smirk, his tone betraying his complete and utter amusement at Flash's reaction to his power. At this, Flash started shaking his head hurriedly, mumbling something about not having a 'damn thing to hide'. Echo just nodded mockingly with a smug assurance that he was not trying to read Flash's mind, but stopped at a sudden burst of words from behind him.

"WHAT THE HELL, EH? YOU CAN'T JUST INVADE MY PRIVATE THOUGHTS, HOSER!" Frost loudly exclaimed angrily, still miraculously not waking up the rest of the cell block. Fury flashed rampant in his features and eyes, darkening the lilac tint. "STUPID LYING BASTARD, YOU PRACTICALLY SAID YOU DIDN'T HAVE A POWER!"

"Oh, so it's okay if _you_ hide what you can do, but no one else can?" Echo retorted, his own crimson eyes narrowing and ears flattening nearly flush back against his silver hair. "_You_ can hide your ice and snow, but _I_can't hide that I can see every single last one of anyone's dirty little secrets if I concentrated?" He snapped with bared teeth revealing a hint of sharpened tooth.

Frost huffed angrily before disappearing completely with a soft _whoosh_. Echo could hear him grumbling something under his breath, but failed to distinguish the words. However, from the dark tone, Echo assumed that he was being cussed out by the invisible slim figure that he knew was somewhere in front of him. Somnus and Flash stayed silent, both consenting to watch the two Patients and not interrupt them.

Finally, Echo spoke up again. "Say, did you see anyone by the name of Solar?" He asked offhandedly, sounding falsely cheerful which was only confirmed by the irritation hidden in the red sea of his eyes. Frost refused to come back into full view, but he did make a small noise to convey a positive answer. Echo was about to continue speaking, until he suddenly paused at the small tapping noise slowly becoming louder. His ears pricked forwards as he sat for a moment, listening, before whirling around to face Flash again. "There's someone coming. Somnus, either make up your mind, or Flash, get the hell out of here."

"I refuse to leave." Somnus stated plainly, darting one hand through the bars of the cage to reach up and shove Flash's shoulder. "Go." He ordered. Flash looked ready to refuse, but nodded slowly at a hurried shooing motion from Echo. Flash beamed momentarily at Somnus before running back down the hallway and out the door with a speed that turned his limbs into a blur of flesh and worn black fabric. Frost looked a little stunned by this and, even though Somnus could not see the expression on his face, quietly explained that Flash's power was speed. Frost nodded, although he was still invisible to the others.

Echo smirked again and looked ready to say something, but was fast interrupted by Somnus narrowing bright green eyes into a murderous glare and throwing a high grey lace-up boot at him. Echo chuckled lightly and handed the boot back to Somnus through the bars of the cage, snickering all the while. Somnus huffed angrily, refusing to say anything about what Echo was going to say or anything else.

Seconds later, and before Frost could ask about the brief irritated exchange, a tall Soldier stormed into the cell block and snapped at Echo and Somnus to 'shut your fat mouths up and get the hell to sleep", conveniently missing Frost owing to the fact that he was still invisible.


	5. Unknown Captives and Protective Sisters

_**Date Written: **December 6, 2011_

_**Word Count:** 1 030_

_**Summary: **A newcomer to the Institution shocks the other residents with a startling secret. How do they react? Can they work together to escape the Insitution? Who is this elusive 'President' anyways? And what the heck is up with this animal DNA stuff? AU, multiple pairings but not sole focus of story, nearly all countries included. Rated T to be safe and for language._

_**Warnings:** Some strong language, somewhat graphic torture later on in story, Canadian swears, country names rarely used (but often not)._

_**Disclaimer:** Hetalia does not belong to me._

**_Pairings: _**_Germany x N Italy, Greece x Japan, America x England, Russia x China, S Italy x Spain, Canada x Prussia, Hungary x Austria, possible other pairings may crop up throughout the story (but highly unlikely)._

**_A short explanation of the Institution:_**_ The Institution is a place where people are taken and experimented on with animal DNA, resulting in both physical and mental animalistic tendances/apperances. It is originally an RP on Chicken Smoothie, but this story veers off from the main plotline of the RP and adds things that were not originally included, such as powers. In the Institution, the people expermented/tested on are kept in cages and are called Patients. Those that are in charge of the Patients are called Soldiers. Wilds are explained in the story. _

* * *

><p>"All of you. Up. Now." The sharp crystal clear voice rang out, after slamming the heavy door at the far end of the cell block open, startling Frost into a seated position with the loud metallic banging noise the movement of the door produced. A delicate figure strode into the cell block, pushing a trolley of sorts in front of her. She had platinum blond hair tied up with a silky white ribbon and falling past her shoulders, along with the standard black Soldier uniform. Large white feathered wings tipped with black protruded from her shoulder blades, almost giving the woman an angelic appearance were it not for the sharp planes of her face and the steely cold look in her lavender eyes.<p>

In her hand was a glossy black baton, which she was banging against the bars of the cells as she walked, pushing the trolley in front of her and repeating the word 'up' with each bang. "Wake up. Breakfast." The woman stated again, stopping at the other end of the cell block. "Good morning big brother." She cooed with a strangely sweet smile adorning her face, bending closer to the occupied cell closest to the end and addressing the figure inside. The resident of the cell in question was pressed back up against the far edge of the cell and had a horrified look on his face. He was mumbling something fearfully under his breath, something that sounded suspiciously like 'go away' repeated over and over again.

The rest of the cell block just watched and waited for their breakfast, but Frost turned to Echo with a questioning look. Echo shook his head the tiniest bit and explained in a hushed tone, "That's Bella, she and Ivan have some…history. They're related but Bella's a bit…erm…let's go with protective…and is kinda trying to marry him…"

"You say that like it's a bad thing." Bella stated sweetly, hints of cold menace tainting her words. She stood up from where she was crouching by the far cell and turned towards Echo, light violet eyes narrowing in suspicion and anger.

Echo quickly backtracked, raising his hands palms up in a slight gesture of peace and shaking his head sharply. "No…not a bad thing…I guess…" He attempted to placate the blonde Soldier and succeeding, if her sudden wide smile was anything to go by. Bella stopped and quickly paused, peering at the space beside Echo. "Who are you talking to, anyways?" She asked curiously, walking towards Frost's cage, leaving the trolley beside Ivan's.

Frost shifted slightly under her piercing gaze and slowly wrapped large wings around his body, ducking his head. Echo glanced over at Frost's faded form before turning back to Bella. "That's Frost." Echo stated, nodding towards the cage next to him. Bella looked confused.

"I don't see anyone there…" She stated in disbelief, looking closer at the cage. A small whimpering chirp escaped Frost's lips and his outline steadily faded. "Look harder." Echo prompted. "He's a bit hard to see at the moment." He snickered, prompting a partially-invisible glare from Frost.

Bella stood at the front of the cage for a little while longer before finally nodding slowly and walking back to the trolley of food.

"She didn't really see me did she." Frost leaned over to ask Echo, noticing the slightly confused look in the Soldier's eyes as she walked away.

"No probably not." Echo laughed, Bella looking over her shoulder and sending a cold glare in his direction.

"I can see the newbie perfectly fine, thank you very much. Now for breakfast, unless you don't want any." Bella snapped, jerking back around to the trolley, nose still crinkled up and eyes still narrowed in annoyance.

Echo rolled his eyes in response. "Like I would want to eat the unawesome slop you _Soldiers_ call food." He sneered, saying 'soldiers' as if it were meant to be an insult. Bella ignored him and started passing out the small silver bowls filled with some sort of milky grey substance (or, to use Echo's words, _slop_) to each Patient.

"So who's going for testing today, ve?" Lumos asked excitedly, skipping happily to the front of his cage and taking the offered bowl, making a face at its contents.

"Not you." Bella snapped again, continuing on down the aisle way with the trolley.

"Thank god." Somnus muttered, ears tilting backwards and tail flicking at the memory of yesterday's moments of temporary blindness. Lumos looked a tad disheartened at this and picked at his food slowly, brown ears twitching to either side.

"Today is group testing. Subjects 123, 114, and 166 will be doing testing today, as well as a couple of Wilds that were caught just outside the testing facilities yesterday." Bella continued as if she had not heard Somnus' interruption, only this time with a smug grin and a darkly satisfied gleam in her eyes. Both Nyx and Somnus stiffened at her words and a flash of worry zipped through Echo's face.

"Who was caught?" Nyx asked uncharacteristically softly, baring sharp teeth when Bella's smile widened. "Who the fuck got caught this time, bitch!" Nyx growled, ears pressing flat against his hair and tail lashing, lips still pulled back from death. The soft light emitting from the windows as well as the light from the ceiling faded and were quickly consuming by an increasing amount of darkness. "Tell me who the fuck else will be testing with us."

Bella watched the lights dim with the same expression, pausing at the door out of the cell block as she finished handing out everyone's breakfast. "Oh I'm sure _you'll_ have fun with our newest Patient." She snickered sinisterly, flashing a smile full of teeth and menace towards Nyx and striding out the door with the trolley.

"Fuck her!" Nyx exclaimed angrily as Bella left, chucking a small rock towards the door and growling softly when it hit the bars of his cage and bounced back with a light _ping_.

"Just eat while you can, da? You will find out who the newest newbies are later anyways." Russia stated quietly, smiling happily now that Bella had left.

* * *

><p><em>I know that it says on my profile that I won't be updating any of my fanfics again until around Christmas break, but Arsenic (my muse) was kinda hitting me over the head with a sledgehammer for this one...then she decided to steal the plot and run away with it. -_-" (Me listening to various Portal songs while writing probably didn't help either XD [my muse reacts differently to different songssounds/etc]) __But this _will _be the last bit of updating anything from me until around Christmas._

_Any guesses as to who the newest newbie is? XD -brick'd-_


	6. Flowers and Fog And More Disappearing

_**Date Written: **December 18, 2011_

_**Word Count:** 691_

_**Summary: **A newcomer to the Institution shocks the other residents with a startling secret. How do they react? Can they work together to escape the Insitution? Who is this elusive 'President' anyways? And what the heck is up with this animal DNA stuff? AU, multiple pairings but not sole focus of story, nearly all countries included. Rated T to be safe and for language._

_**Warnings:** Swearing, and the Bad Touch Trio are now back together-ish._

_**Disclaimer:** Hetalia does not belong to me._

**_Pairings: _**_Germany x N Italy, Greece x Japan, America x England, Russia x China, S Italy x Spain, Canada x Prussia, Hungary x Austria, possible other pairings may crop up throughout the story (but highly unlikely)._

**_A short explanation of the Institution:_**_ The Institution is a place where people are taken and experimented on with animal DNA, resulting in both physical and mental animalistic tendances/apperances. It is originally an RP on Chicken Smoothie, but this story veers off from the main plotline of the RP and adds things that were not originally included, such as powers. In the Institution, the people expermented/tested on are kept in cages and are called Patients. Those that are in charge of the Patients are called Soldiers. Wilds are explained in the story. _

* * *

><p>"Stupid fucking bitch…" Nyx grumbled, kicking one of the small rocks on the cage floor and watching impassively as it skittered around the concrete.<p>

"And why are _you_ so worried about who we're testing with?" Echo quipped, an amused smirk twitching up the corners of his lips.

"Because most of the Wilds are fucking stuck up bastards." Nyx quickly retorted, ears tipping backwards and tail-tip twitching nervously.

A few moments later, the door at the end of the cell block was pushed open by a tall blond man in the black Soldier uniform with large antlers protruding from either side of his head. In one hand he held a ring of keys, which he was currently using to unlock the cages of Somnus, Nyx, and Frost, gesturing for them to stand in a line.

The Soldier then directed them out of the cell block and down the hall, through a different door and into a large white room. Standing in one corner of the room, appearing to be arguing with a rather feminine Soldier, was Solar and another figure with wavy blond hair and a lightly used-looking black uniform.

"So this is who we will be testing with?" Somnus asked, turning towards the taller Soldier. It was, however, not that Soldier who answered him. It was the slighter Soldier with black hair and golden eyes.

"Thank you Mute." The Soldier nodded to the taller Soldier, who turned to leave, before continuing in response to Somnus. "And yes. You will fight until the first draw of blood or the first person passes out. Good luck." The Soldier finished, smiling and stepping backwards away from the two groups of Patients.

The blond figure smirked at Somnus, giving him a wink and a wave which earned him a cold green glare. "Bloody frog…" He grumbled angrily, narrowing his eyes and tail lashing slowly.

"Ah, but mon ami, are you not happy to see me?" The blond laughed with a flip of his wavy hair.

"No, go away Briar." Somnus stated instantly, back farther away from the blond.

"Enough chit-chat, get on with the fighting." The other Soldier ordered impassively.

Solar laughed. "If they keep on like this, they'll be using their powers in no time, don't worry." The Soldier shrugged and repeated his earlier statement. "Start using your powers then." He ordered.

Somnus' tail stilled and his ears tilted forwards, eyes sliding closed as a light pink fog formed around his feet and slowly drifted towards Briar.

Briar's smile grew wider and he skipped backwards away from the fog, twitching one hand and sending tendrils of vine towards Somnus, which wrapped around his feet, causing him to promptly fall over.

"123, keep your eyes open." The Soldier shouted from across the room. Somnus picked himself up from the ground, kicking away the vines and sending the Soldier a glare.

While Somnus and Briar were fighting, the other three drifted closer together to watch.

"So, it's nice to meet you again, I guess." Frost greeted Solar, edging away from the pink fog as it got closer to the group.

"Wait, what?" Nyx started, ears flat against his hair."

"Si, we have already met, yesterday!" Solar exclaimed happily. "But it is nice to see you too!" He continued, slinging his arms around Nyx in a tight hug. Nyx cursed loudly and maneuvered his way out of the other's arms, glaring at him.

"You three, start fighting." The Soldier ordered again from his corner. Nyx rolled his eyes and concentrated, the light drifting down from the fluorescent lights on the ceiling dimming and disappearing, plunging the gathered Patients into darkness.

A darkness which was presently tempered by a happily smiling Solar with a small ball of fire cradled in one hand. Nyx growled under his breath and sent the darkness encroaching on the warm light sent out by the flame. Frost, disappearing on purpose this time, went to stand by the Soldier, leading over his shoulder and reading the clipboard his was holding.

The clipboard had the subject numbers of all the Patients present, as well as jotted notes under each name with information on how they were using their powers against each other and how they were interacting with one another. The Soldier kept looking at the notes scrawled under 152 and 114 with a puzzled expression, seeming unsure of what to write. Frost sighed softly and sat down with his back against the wall, content for now to just watch the others fight and stay out of their way.


	7. Bad Friends Trio and Frying Pans

_**Date Written: **December 27, 2011_

_**Word Count:** 707_

_**Summary: **A newcomer to the Institution shocks the other residents with a startling secret. How do they react? Can they work together to escape the Insitution? Who is this elusive 'President' anyways? And what the heck is up with this animal DNA stuff? AU, multiple pairings but not sole focus of story, nearly all countries included. Rated T to be safe and for language._

_**Warnings:** None for this chapter._

_**Disclaimer:** Hetalia does not belong to me._

* * *

><p>"Ve~ So how was the testing?" Lumos skipped happily to the front of his cage, greeting Somnus, Frost, Solar, Briar, and Nyx with a wide smile as the group was escorted back into the cell block and into their cages by the tall Soldier with antlers from earlier. Solar was directed towards the empty cell beside Russia with Briar across from Solar and beside Somnus.<p>

Somnus shrugged slightly, sitting heavily on the concrete floor and leaning against the wall, glaring towards Briar who waved slightly. Nyx rolled his eyes and curled up on the cot, ears sliding to the sides and tail twitching up to cover most of his body. Frost fiddled with a feather on one of his wings quietly, watching the rest of the cell block with bleary eyes. The cell block was almost completely quiet, save for soft breathing and rustling feathers.

"HEY BRIAR, SOLAR I HAVEN'T SEEN YOU GUYS IN FOREVER!"

Scratch that part about the cell block being almost quiet. It was now, most definitely, not quiet; the quietness being effectively killed by Echo's excited shout. Quite a few of the Patients jumped at that.

"Bonjour Echo, it's nice to see you again, despite the circumstances." Briar turned towards Echo with a tired smile which quickly dissolved into a smirk. "And so our little trio has reunited again." He laughed.

"Si~ It's almost just like before. Well, minus the fact that we weren't actually _in_ the Institution before." Solar agreed, fluttering large brown wings happily.

"And that you didn't exactly have wings before." Echo pointed out, nodding towards Solar's wings.

"You didn't either though." Solar replied, still smiling widely.

"I think Briar's the only one out of us who is still somewhat normal." Echo chuckled, glancing towards where Briar was watching their conversation in amusement.

"Like you three were ever normal to start with." Nyx grumbled tiredly, flattening his ears and glaring sideways at them.

"Catch up later. Let the rest of us sleep. Tired from testing." Somnus suggested groggily, eyes fluttering closed even as he spoke.

Briar, Solar, and Echo looked towards each other and shrugged, before quieting down their conversation to excited whispers and hushed voices.

* * *

><p>A dark figure slunk through the shadows of the trees, making sure to stay out of the line of sight of the seated person in front of her. She crept closer to the unwary Soldier, flaring out feathery brown wings. In one hand she held a thin stick, light and easy to carry through the jungle. Her other hand was clenched into a tight fist. She glanced sideways, meeting the eyes gleaming through the leaves across from her. With a nod from the owner of the eyes, she straightened up out of her crouch before walking away from the deeper shadows and into the view of the Soldier.<p>

"Good morning, or is it afternoon now?" She greeted the Soldier cordially, masking the hints of ice in her tone with a sunny smile.

The Soldier narrowed his eyes suspiciously before answering the figure, gaze flickering over her black uniform. "It is just after twelve. Good afternoon to you as well. You don't look familiar." The Soldier stated questioningly.

"I am relatively new here. Subject 142." The woman gave a slight bow towards the Soldier, grinning pleasantly all the while.

"Subject 142…Hey wait, you're not a Soldier!" The Soldier exclaimed, baring sharp teeth and backing away from Subject 142.

"Never said I was." She stated, just as she swung her hand out towards the Soldier's head, thin twig shifting into a sturdy frying pan. The Soldier swayed and fell sideways as the frying pan connected with his head.

Subject 142 turned back towards the trees, meeting dark blue eyes again. Her gaze flickered over the rest of the trees, turning on her heel and walking towards the Institution, purpose evident in her steps. Quiet rustling of trees and snapping of twigs followed behind her as she walked. Subject 142 paused, glancing back around and ordering towards the trees, "Stay quiet. There might be more and I can't afford to have any of you seen until we reach the entrance."

The small noises stopped and the woman started walking again, frying pan melting back into harmless-looking twig.


End file.
